lay down your influence, identity, and income…

{To read part one of the tips from Moses’ life on calling and purpose, check out yesterday’s post HERE}

My heart is to see a movement of God’s people living extraordinary lives. I’m tired of seeing children of the Living God walking around half dead.

Instead of chasing the purpose created for them, they are afraid of what pursuing God means.

“God I want to serve you, but don’t let this happen!”

“God I want to serve you, but please don’t make me poor!”

“God I want to serve you anywhere… except Africa!”

“God I want to serve you, but please don’t allow anyone in my life get sick!”

“God I want to serve you but please don’t make me let go of my super hot heathen boyfriend!”

I get it. We have lots of fears. When God asks us to pick up our cross and follow him, we may become reluctant and want to run our own lives. Moses was just like that. But God interrupted his comfortable life. Think about it. Mo was hitting 80 years old, he was ready to retire. You know, settle down with the grandkids and rock on his front porch.

But there’s a bush that is burning and Moses’ life is about to get flipped upside down.
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.” [Ex. 4:1-3]

In Exodus chapter 3 [read it for extra credit], Moses had many doubts and many fears. He came up with tons of excuses. But God asked Moses what was in his hand.

We know Moses has a shepherd’s staff in his hand, a dead thing. But then he laid it down and it became a snake. A dead thing became a living thing, and a dangerous thing at that. So dangerous in fact that Moses actually runs from it! God says to pick it again and it becomes a dead thing again.

Before we discover what God has created us for, we must be willing to lay down our income, lay down our status, lay down our perfection, lay down our finances, lay down our children, lay down our relationships, lay down our self-pursuits.

Just like God told Moses, I believe God is telling people today to lay it down. Will you not lay down your identity? Many of us are defined by our job, our education, our financial status, or marital status. But Galatians 2:19 reminds us that, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Yes, it’s no longer about me, but rather Christ who lives in me. God is saying, Let me be the one to give you identity. Find your identity in me.

Before we find our passion and calling, we must be willing to lay down our influence and recognition.

The recognition of man pales in comparison to what God has called us to. God is asking if you’re willing to lay down our dead things so he can make them come to life. Many people are living lives that are dead; it feels comfortable and safe and controllable.

But when God gives us a vision for our life like He did with Moses, we’re able to see the power God has for us, the purpose he promises us, and the plan he wants for us. It might scare us. Some might even want to run away from because it’s terrifying and they won’t know how to handle the amazing things God has for them.

We can have great dreams for ourselves, as I’m sure Moses had great dreams for himself.

But I wonder if he ever had dreams that one day he would change the world.
I wonder if in his wildest dream his shepherd’s stick—which is the last time in scripture it’s referred to as Moses’ rod, but now as the rod of God—that one day this rod of God would humble and bring the greatest nation of that time to its knees.
I wonder if he dreamt that one day he would raise this rod and seas would part.
I wonder if he dreamt one day that he would hit a rock with this rod of God and water would spew out. Or that he would feed thousands of people in the desert.

Even in his wildest imaginations as a Prince of Egypt, I don’t think he knew what he was going to do through the power of God.

Our dreams are great. We may have wonderful dreams. But I discovered God’s dreams for me are far greater than my dreams for myself. Yes, His dreams are far greater than anything we can dream up. But let’s not ignore three things that are in the text:

God won’t use anything we have until we let go of it. He will not force or coerce us to give up anything. It’s when we willingly offer it to Him that He will do great things with whatever we have.

God didn’t ask Moses to use something he didn’t already have. Yup, God always uses what we have. God has never demanded from us what we do not have.

We will never know the full potential of what we have until we allow God to have full control of it.

Sadly, I believe that Christianity has lost sight of that. Today we define a mature Christian as someone who goes to church, knows some scripture, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t curse, and volunteers at a non-profit, but goes along pursuing their own dream trying to find fulfillment. They go along baptizing their dream and Christianizing it.

But God has HUGE dreams for us! He’s whispering in the wind and speaking through the fire and shouting in silence the extraordinary dream He is birthing in you. His dream for you is far greater than the dream you have for yourself. It’s not your identity or income or influence that will make this happen. Like Zechariah 4:6 says, “’It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.”

God isn’t waiting until you have more resources or a husband or a job so he can use you. He can use you now.

Stop asking when you are going to get your gifts or talents or calling and see what’s in your hand.

15 Comments

Thank you for this Bianca. I feel like I´ve been walking in the desert forever, and I´ve been dying for a burning bush. I now know, that the words of the Lord are loud and clear, ” Give it all up. I am all you need”.

Please pray with me, that I´ll persever during this walk in the desert and not grow wear or worse, bitter.

That was beautiful, and so true. He keeps teaching me this and is making a pattern of it in my life. I’ve written about Laying it Down three times including one a couple of weeks ago. But this is the one that started it all: http://wp.me/p48S3C-fK

As I read this blog, and after this amazing weekend learning more about “The Theater of Your Mind”…
I know without a shadow of a doubt that God met me there!

He confirmed it again, in this blog. His timing always blows me away. I read your blogs consistently, but this one was meant to be read today, three days after my glorious weekend with my Jesus. Oh! How He Loves Me!!

I love you my MexiRican!! Keep shining for our Jesus!!

P.s. I wish you had a virtual calendar, where I can follow and see where you will be teaching next and when it’s local I could go and when it’s not, I can gather a carpool of Sistahs! check into a hotel and have a lil’ Girl Jesus time. I’m sure my handsome Salvi Hubby, Ham wouldn’t mind! Shoot, in fact, he would probably even give me gas money! Bwhahahaha!!

Great post! All of your words spoke directly to me. This past year God has been speaking to me about all of these, especially turning my ambitions over to Him, as He is my sole Ambition. How do you know/”see what is in your hand”? This has been an area of struggle for me.

Your words ring so refreshing and so true. I grew up my whole life thinking that because I chose to abstain from partying and sex, etc that I was a good Christian. I then proceeded to go to college and strayed far from the path God had chosen for me. It was not until I reached a really low point that I truly found God and he became so real to me. My life is so much more than a life seeking my own happiness but I am here for the sole purpose of serving God. I am working on surrendering and I am definitely getting there but the problem I am having is seeing what God’s plan for me is. I am a new attorney and have had the dream on my heart for many years to work with human trafficking victims. I do not know how those two are supposed to work but what I do know is that I am solely God’s vessel. Thank you for your reminder!

I’m in a season of laying down it seems like. It’s been going on a while, but I think had I not fought it for so long, life would have been a little smoother these last few years. But I can definitely stay that once I started walking again in obedience in these areas, laying down has come a lot easier. And from all this laying down and planting (I’m a farmer’s daughter. I equate everything to planting), I’m starting to see a few signs of a harvest coming. I don’t wait out seasons well, but at the end is harvest. And then it starts all over again. Just thankful for the process today.

Hi Bianca,
I am new to your site. I just saw you on TBN with Christine Cane and Beth Moore. You are a very inspirational person. I have to say that I feel much like the other women who have responded to this post. I was a teacher for 9 years. The last two years of my career were extremely stressful with the administration in my building. I ended up not having my contract renewed which left me very depressed. I have lost my self confidence. I do not have a full time job yet. I do pray and talk with God all the time. I have a few friends to discuss what we read in the bible too. I feel lost at this time. I am not sure what God wants me to do or where I am supposed to be to do his work. I am not sure if you have ever seen this series called, ” The Path Appears” but it was on my local PBS station and it focused on the ever growing human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world. I can’t stop thinking about it. I could not believe what I was seeing- children and women being taken for sex trafficking. It made my heart sick to see this happening. I spoke to a police officer who said in our area it isn’t as bad as in larger cities but we are getting there. I don’t know if I am supposed to do something in this area or am I supposed to just take a job to make ends meet, which by the way with a very large school loan isn’t easy. I see jobs now that pay much less than I was making and I know I can’t pay the bills with those jobs. It’s hard not to feel like a failure at this time in my life. I find it a struggle. I want to believe and trust that God will guide me, but I think I am not patient enough. I will continue to read your blogs and check out Propelwomen.org Thank You!!!!

You say, “But God has HUGE dreams for us! He’s whispering in the wind and speaking through the fire and shouting in silence the extraordinary dream He is birthing in you. His dream for you is far greater than the dream you have for yourself.”

I have so much respect for you and your ministry. It seems you’re living the dream God has for you. My question is this; how do you know when you are following God’s dream, rather than Christianizing your own? You seem to do this well, so I would love to get your view on how you know where the Holy Spirit is guiding, rather than where you just want to go yourself.